So when Neighbor Matt went to Peru recently, it was all about lending a hand with the Starkey Foundation. On his own website, Matt writes:

i joined a trip to huancayo, peru with some folks from starkey hearing foundation. our job was to fit people with hearing aids if they needed them. the company provided the devices and their service for free. they do this all around the world. i was one of the many volunteers.

i’ve been trying to write a short piece about my experience for weeks now. it’s been really hard. words kinda fail it.

if i didn’t have my hearing, i wouldn’t have music. and if i didn’t have music, i definitely wouldn’t have survived my childhood. listening to albums and seeing bands and being connected to songs was EVERYTHING to me. it still is. it makes me feel not alone. it helps me transcend my broken brain. in fact, the only reason i play music is because i love it so much. i couldn’t stay on the sidelines, i HAVE to be a part of it.

going to peru was super heavy. the people were incredible. to be in service to them, to assist in connecting them to their kids laughter, to their parents voices, to MUSIC!… it was completely humbling. and overwhelming. i felt love and gratitude towards other human beings on a level i’ve never experienced.

see? it’s really hard to put into words… so i’m glad we shot footage and made a video while we were there. it does a WAY better job explaining than i ever could.

Matt’s newest song and video are all about his time in Peru. And when you see it, it’s easy to understand why the experience was so powerful, and so difficult to put into words. Because here’s what Neighbor Matt did during his recent visit to Peru:

As part of his ongoing video series about Bernal Heights personalities, Neighbor Steve Sisler points his camera at Neighbor Darcy Lee, the glamorous proprietor of Heartfelt on Cortland:

Serving the residents of Bernal Heights for over 22 years, Heartfelt is a treasured neighborhood gem. Reminiscent of an old-fashioned variety store with a modern twist, proprietor – Miss Darcy Lee has created a place where delight meets whimsy at the intersection of happy.

Yesterday at dusk, Bernalwood contributor Joe “Jobius” Thomas captured a terrific time-lapse video of the moon rising behind Mount Diablo, as seen from his Observation Post on the eastern slope of Bernal Hill.

Lisa Moro began curating shows at the Inclusions Gallery in San Francisco’s eclectic Bernal Heights neighborhood in 2007, with the aim of becoming embedded in a community where she could make a difference.

The results have been successful and positive: a comfortable, inclusive space in the midst of a vibrant, creative neighborhood – where the gallery acts as a strong connector within the community, building bridges between local artists, neighbors. And this is never more apparent than during the annual show of Bernal Heights artists.

In Moro’s words, “The community supporting the gallery gives me the opportunity to support the artists in the community.”

Very Special Thanks to Bernal’s Ralph Carney for providing the soundtrack for this film.

Neighbor Ralph lives a few doors down from me in Precitaville, and he’s been here for a long time. His father bought the house he lives in now back in 1943 with money he made working as a laborer at Fort Mason.

Ralph remembers the years after World War II, when San Francisco’s population swelled with returning soldiers and sailors who decided to stay. Everyone had work, he recalled, particularly at the shipyards.”Hunter’s Point was going 24 hours a day,” he says.

Ralph worked for the SFPD as a policeman. He started on the beat, but then spent most of his career “inside” at the Hall of Justice before retiring.